


Black Feathered Arrows That Pierce You Soul

by CaptainDean13



Series: She's Smoke [3]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: AU, Actual Thief Bilbo Baggins, BAMF Bilbo Baggins, BAMF Nori, Betrayal, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Female Bilbo Baggins, Hurt Bilbo Baggins, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Pre-Slash, Pre-The Hobbit, Protective Belladonna, Protective Dori, Protective Nori, Protective Ori, Serious Injuries, Thief Belladonna, Thief Nori
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:26:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22626292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainDean13/pseuds/CaptainDean13
Summary: Not every job goes quite as planned.  Some even have devastating consequences.
Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Nori, Female Bilbo Baggins/ Nori
Series: She's Smoke [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1280441
Comments: 3
Kudos: 91





	1. Like Liquid Poison

**Author's Note:**

> *nervously pokes head out of smial door*
> 
> "Um, yes, uh, you see... good morning?"
> 
> The phrase 'good morning' in this instance being used to mean 'I am so very sorry about not updating this series (or anything else) for almost an entire year'.
> 
> I don't know if anyone was waiting for another installment, but if you were... Surprise! I'm back!
> 
> Also, slight warning - read the tags my friends. This is not a very happy fic. It is mostly dark actually. But there is some comfort in there. But it is not the end (Uh, obviously... we still have a quest... and a few fics before that). 
> 
> The work and chapter titles come from the wonderful [The Hate Inside ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpCSKhpvqeE) by Tommee Profitt and Sam Tinnesz :)  
> Hope you enjoy!

The thump of boots causes Bilba to try and pull herself even further into the shadow filled alcove. Biting hard on her glove to muffle the noises she cannot prevent, she blinks away the tears blurring her vision and forces herself to examine the wound. The jagged line begins just below her left hip and travels up and across to the right. The wound disappears up under her vest, but even without being able to see all of it, Bilba knows she is in trouble. 

It was supposed to be an easy job. Bilba and Nori had pulled off dozens of trickier scores over the years. So many that “The Gwers” reputation had spread throughout the West. Her mother had merely laughed and stated that the goal of every apprentice should be to outdo their master. While she still did occasional jobs for the thrill of it, Mother had focused more on running the court and the spice company, letting Bilba and Nori work unsupervised for much of the last two years. 

_Wonder if that will change now…._ Bilba thinks hysterically. _At least for Nori… I am not sure I will even…._

She cuts that line of thought before reaching the morbid conclusion. Clamping her arm across the gash as best she can in an effort to slow the bleeding, Bilba grinds her teeth into her gloved hand and tilts her head to rest against the stone behind her as she considers her options. 

The job had gone sideways almost immediately. Somehow the mark had known they were coming. Nori and Bilba had no sooner gotten to the case the necklace was in when the dwarf in question burst into the workshop, followed by what seemed like half the guard. Without a word to each other, Nori and Bilba had split, years of training and several other narrow escapes having drilled the backup plan into them. Nori had disappeared through the back door while Bilba sprinted towards the window. One of the guards got in a lucky jab as she dove past. Bilba does not quite remember how she made it the rest of the way out and to the alcove she was in now, the details lost in a haze of pain. 

Bilba releases a slow breath through her nose as she realizes that she has no idea how long it has been since they ran. The escape plan includes the two of them going their separate ways and keeping moving for two hours before meeting up at the **id-Khagr Narag** , the tavern that held the Court of the Thieves of Thorin’s Halls. Bilba winces as she feels more blood slip down her side to begin dripping into a puddle on the ground. The tavern is nearly half a league away as the crow flies. Between the patrols and the necessity of taking back pathways to avoid being seen in her gear and covered in blood the route becomes more than 3 times that. Shuddering, Bilba fights back a sob at the realization that she will not make it that far. 

Nori won’t even begin to search for her until she misses the meet by a half hour. It can’t have been much more than a half hour since they split which means if she waits for Nori it will be at least two more hours on top of the time it will take him to find her. He is her best friend, the closest individual to her in the world, and he knows her better than she knows herself. Nori will find her. But the time it takes him to do so…

Gasping sobs shake Bilba as the truth of the situation becomes inescapable. If she does not find help soon, she will bleed to death in this alcove and Nori will find her corpse. 

However, help may be out of her reach. Mother and Grim are staying at the same inn they always use, but that is further than the **id-Khagr Narag** in the opposite direction. Bilba considers turning herself in to the guard, but despite their leader being one of the more honorable dwarrow Bilba had even come across, the rest are not always so honorable. If she could find Dwalin, he would almost certainly get her medical attention, if only to keep her alive long enough for him to get the satisfaction of locking her away for the rest of her life. Nori and Mother would never let her stay in jail, of course, but her identity would be revealed and it wouldn’t be hard to make the leap to Mother and Nori. Even so, Bilba would do it if it would save her. Still, many of the guards would probably just let her bleed into the streets and spit on her corpse as they called it justice. 

Bilba tries not to panic as all her options disappear one by one. She is suddenly, completely, paralyzingly terrified that she is living out her last moments. All the things she has yet to do begin spinning through her mind. The thought that if she dies here and now she will never be able to tell Nori exactly how important to her snaps her from her frozen horror. 

There is one more option that she has been refusing to consider. Taking it will mean betraying Nori’s trust in a way she is unsure he can forgive. _More unforgivable than giving up and dying here?_ Bilba scolds herself. She knows with every fiber of her being that she is as important to Nori as he is to her. He would never accept her giving up. With those being the only options she can see, Bilba hopes he can forgive her for taking the one that gives her a chance at survival. 

_At least I will be alive for him to yell at._ She thinks wryly as she struggles to her feet. The ground tilts alarmingly under her and she leans heavily on the wall behind her. The dark spots crowding her vision swell before disappearing and Bilba swallows thickly before firming her resolve and staggering away from the alcove. Scanning the streets, Bilba plots her route and tries to keep to the shadows as she creeps her way painfully toward her tentative salvation.


	2. This Fury's Burning In You Chest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilba's destination is revealed.

The hair on Dori’s neck bristles as he steps in the door and he slams his arm out to prevent Ori from walking past him into the house. When nothing happens beyond Ori’s squawk of surprise, Dori slowly leans to the side to strike the lamp placed by the door. The flame catches, lighting the room enough for Dori to immediately spot what is out of place. A small figure is huddled in the shadows in the far corner of the room. Ori sees it as well if his sudden lack of motion and sound is any indication. Dori watches the figure warily as he slowly slides his dagger from its sheath and edges closer. He shoots one quick stern look at Ori to ensure he remains at the door. The lad nods quickly and shakily draws his own dagger, one Bilba had given him last midwinter after Dori had forbid Nori from doing the same. 

The figure does not stir as he approaches. Halfway across the room, Dori realizes with horror that he recognizes the figure from the wanted sketches posted all over town. Gwerbainas, one of the two terrors of the mountains, is in his sitting room. Pushing down his panic, Dori glances at his pale faced brother.

“Ori,” he instructs quietly. “Go call the guard. Tell them Gwerbainas is here. Quickly now, lad.”

Ori blanches further and turns to go but freezes along with Dori at the sound of his name from another source.

“Wait, Ori….” 

Dori whips his head back around to stare at the huddled figure. One shaking blood stained hand lifts slowly to pull down the hood and mask concealing the thief’s face. For a long moment Dori’s mind refuses to process the sight in front of him. Bilba, kind, sweet, mischievous Bilba stares back at him pleadingly from within the guise of one of the most notorious criminals the mountains have ever seen. The discrepancy in this is too much for him to handle and his mind simply screeches to a halt. For the span of a moment that lasts an age Dori stares at the girl who he thought he knew as a sister. The one that writes him and Ori as often as Nori does, who never forgets to send gifts for special occasions, who collects stories from her travels to feed Ori. For that one second he stares at the lass and wonders if he ever really knew her at all. 

The standoff is broken by Ori, who yelps and runs towards Bilba as soon as she reveals her face. Dori once again snaps out an arm to keep his brother behind him. 

Ori, not expecting the move, slams into him with the force of a cave in. Dori has always been the strongest, however, and that doesn’t change now. Ori stares at him in shock. “Dori? What are you doing? Let me go, we need to -”

“Go get the guard.” Dori hears his own voice as though from a distance. Ori looks at him in disbelief. Dori is almost surprised himself, but it feels as though everything is smothered by a heavy blanket. He thinks vaguely that he may be in shock before that thought is tamped down with the rest. 

Ori’s face hardens and he throws Dori’s arm off too fast for him to fight it. “No.” He says firmly, straightening his spine. Grabbing the lamp, Ori spins on his heel and strides quickly to drop down at Bilba’s side. He cries out in alarm as the lamp reflects off the pool of blood surrounding Bilba. 

The sight jerks Dori back into awareness, his thoughts sharpening as his eyes catch on Bilba’s. She is watching him, labradorite eyes pools of regret, hurt and resignation. 

“I’m sorry.” She says softly once he makes eye contact. “I had nowhere else to go. Please, Dori, I don’t want to die. I never - ” Bilba chokes and coughs, whimpering in between gasps of air. Blood coats her lips and trickles from the corner of her mouth. Ori panics, hands fluttering around the lass. Strangely, Dori finds his thoughts calming from their maelstrom at the sight. This is Bilba. The lass he is nearly certain is his brother’s One. Nothing else matters but making sure she lives.

“Ori,” He says firmly. “We need a healer. And to find Nori.” 

A sudden fear strikes and he opens his mouth, but Bilba must have either anticipated the question or can read it from his face. “He was fine last I saw him.”

Dori forces his mind away from the horrible suspicion growing in his mind. He nods and continues. “I am guessing you want Adalgrim to be the healer?” 

Bilba hesitates slightly, her eyes flickering down at the steady drip of blood. “Ori is fast.” He says gently. 

She swallows thickly and nods. “Please.” 

Ori, smart lad that he is, implies what they are not saying and goes as pale as parchment before he clenches his jaw and nods sharply, getting to his feet. Bilba reaches out and weakly tugs at his trousers to make him pause. He crouches back down next to his friend. 

Her voice is weak enough that Dori steps closer to hear. “When you get to the inn…. Can you send someone to get Nori? I… I need him. I have to see him, to tell him in case…”

Ori grasps her hand and leans down to knock his forehead against hers gently. “Don’t say that.” He pleads. “You will be fine. Grim will fix you up in no time, you’ll see. I can go get Nori after I tell Grim to come. Do you know where he is?”

Bilba’s eyes flick to Dori before settling back on Ori. “It is better that you send someone. Mother will know.” 

Ori hesitates a moment but then nods and jumps up and takes off out the door. 

Heavy silence lingers in the wake of his departure. Dori moves to fill the space Ori had previously occupied. Bilba watches him carefully, looking younger than she has since he met her. Dori is viciously reminded that she is not even yet of age and his mothering instincts, always close to the surface, rear their head.

He kneels down and gently grabs hold of the arm she has clamped around her middle. “Let’s see just what you have done to yourself, lass.” He says quietly as he pulls it away.

Dori’s heart twists at the whimper that escapes her at the motion. He soothes her with a hand over her braids. “We need to take off your vest. I need to slow the bleeding.”

Bilba’s breath hitches but she nods and tries to struggle her way to an upright position. Dori quickly catches on and levers her up. He spots the buckles on her lower back and moves to undo them. Even his careful movements have Bilba flinching slightly, the hitches in her breath moving closer to sobs. He lifts one hand to guide her head to the crook of his shoulder. She immediately burrows in, tears dampening his skin as one small hand comes up to clench at his tunic.

“Hush **namad** , I have you.” Dori whispers as he finishes undoing the straps. He can feel some of the tension leave the lass’s frame at the endearment. He slowly peels the vest away from Bilba, attempting to minimize her pain without knowing the extent of the injuries. She makes a strangled sound as the vest comes away with a hideous squelching noise. Dori winces and helps her ease back against the wall so he can take a look. 

Suppressing a cry of horror at the amount of blood covering the tiny figure, Dori eyes the remaining cloth. “Tunic will have to go as well.”

Bilba nods her consent and he considers a moment before pulling out his dagger and simply cutting the seams rather than put her through the pain of removing the item. The tunic is destroyed anyway. Dori begins cutting it into long strips to use as bandages to try and stem the blood that has increased from a drip to a slight stream because of the handling. He does his best to keep a neutral expression on his face, hiding his fear of the giant wound and its possible consequences. He is unsure if he is successful, especially when Bilba whispers, “Dori, I’m scared.” 

He finishes tying the bandages with a tight knot that has Bilba wincing. “Help is coming, **sulkhalûkh**.”

Bilba makes a noise that is half laugh and half sob. “I’m so sorry, Dori. He never wanted you to know, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

Dori flounders for a response but is spared the necessity of one when the door of the house flies open, startling both Dori and Bilba. Gwerbarf, the second half of the thieves of terror, comes tearing into the house. All of Dori’s carefully maintained doubts are shattered into pieces when the thief rips off the hood and mask to reveal his **nadadith.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> **Khuzdul**
> 
> ***Namad - sister**   
> ***sulkhalûkh - tiny desolation / tiny dragon**  
>  ***nadadith - brother who is young (little brother)**
> 
> My neo-khuzdul is taken from the wonderful Dwarrow Scholar. 
> 
> Forgot to mention ages in the last chapter. For this installment, Bilba is 29 which works out to about 18 in human years and Nori is 89 which is around 24/25.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, my Neo-Khuzdul is taken from the fabulous Dwarrow Scholar. All mistakes are mine. I cobbled together the tavern name but I believe **"id-Khagr Narag"** translates to "The Black Nose" which struck me as a weird and fairly dwarfish sounding tarvern ;)
> 
> I already have the next two chapters of this story written so I will post them fairly soon. 
> 
> Thank you so much to anyone who reads!


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